A Haunted Halloween
by ElisabethCarter
Summary: The gang meets for the first time just before Halloween, but will a terrible creature cause problems in their friendship, or bring them closer together? No relation to my other stories. It's better than the summary is, so please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Hello, wonderful readers! As I'm sure you're aware, Halloween is coming up. In honor of this totally awesome holiday, I've decided to write this story using one of the coolest Halloween myths I've heard of. As I've said in the summary, this story has absolutely no relation to any of my others. Oh, and this story will definitely have some Fraphne and Shelma moments, so if you don't like either of those pairings, I suggest you either skip over those parts or read a different story. Please don't tell me that my story is terrible just because you don't like Shaggy and Velma together, because its my story and that's how I chose to write it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Scooby-Doo or any of its characters!

_Chapter 1_

Fred Jones was every girl's dream guy. He was tall, blonde, and captain of the football team. His crystal clear blue eyes had been known to make several young ladies faint. He was the envy of every other boy at Coolsville High, yet it all felt wrong to him.

Fred's father was the mayor of Coolsville, Ohio, making their family extremely well-known. This, coupled with Fred's incredibly good looks, made him the most popular guy in the whole town when he was still just a sophomore.

But what had Fred done to deserve all of that attention? He often wondered why people looked up to him as often as they did. His popularity was merely the result of his appearance and family's social standing. Somehow, to Fred, this did not seem like a very good reason to be the most well-liked boy in the whole of Coolsville.

He was contemplating his undeserved popularity as he walked down the hallways of Coolsville High one Thursday morning. As he strolled through the sea of fellow students, Fred's eyes found one of the most beautiful girl in the whole state.

Daphne Blake was a member of the richest family in the area. Her father had made a fortune in the stock market some years earlier, ensuring the Blake family a status as high as the Jones's. Daphne had soft, strawberry blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Fred had often admired her from afar, as many others had done as well. Daphne was incredibly popular in school, though she too was only a sophomore. What was really amazing about her was the fact that she didn't act popular. She was still _real_, a quality that others in that school had lost completely. This, more than anything, was why Fred was attracted to her.

Today, Daphne was wearing her usual purple dress and green scarf. Her red hair was hanging loosely at her shoulders, and her eyes were absolutely mesmerizing.

Fred had become so absorbed in observing her that he accidentally walked right into some poor kid and knocked him over.

"Sorry, man," Fred said, helping the scrawny boy up. "Do you need help? You look a little lost."

"Um, yeah," the kid responded. He had messy brown hair and wore a loose-fitting green T-shirt. There was a hint of fear in his hazel eyes. "Could you, like, help me find where my first class is?"

"Sure," Fred responded, taking a look at the stranger's schedule. "Oh, you have Life Skills first. I have that, too."

The kid nodded and smiled. He followed Fred awkwardly down the hall, wondering whether or not he should start a conversation. Luckily for the boy, Fred was the one who began talking.

"I'm Fred Jones. You must be new here because I've never seen you before."

"Yeah, I'm, like, Shaggy Rogers." Shaggy gave a nervous smile. To him, Fred looked like just another jock, and it was the jocks that beat up scrawny new kids, so naturally Shaggy had a few misgivings about carrying on the conversation. "I moved here, like, two days ago from California."

Fred sighed. "Living there must have been so much more exciting. There's nothing even remotely adventurous about Ohio."

Fred began to imagine what it would be like to lead a life of adventure and intrigue. He became so absorbed in the fantasy that he almost walked past the Life Skills classroom. Shaking his head as if to clear away those thoughts, Fred opened the door and ushered Shaggy inside. There were still about five minutes until the class actually started, so there was a relatively small amount of people present in the room.

"Ah, you must be Norville Rogers," Mr. Centarino, the Life Skills teacher, greeted from his desk.

Shaggy cringed at the use of his real name, but nodded nonetheless.

The elderly man rose from his chair and shook hands with his new student. "I'm Mr. Centarino, but you may call me Mr. C if you wish. I'm supposed to be teaching life skills in this class, but I honestly have no idea what the hell that means."

"So this class is basically a free period or a study hall," Fred explained, chuckling lightly at the fact that someone had named their kid "Norville."

Mr. C smiled. "Yes, it is. Norville, you can take a seat in the back by Fred. Please, feel free to come to me if you have any problems adjusting here, and I hope you have a fantastic time here."

Shaggy thanked Mr. C for his kindness before retreating to his seat in the back of the room. This teacher seemed pretty chill, even if he was really old. Shaggy was really hoping that everyone at this school would be as nice as Mr. C, though he was too aware of human nature to believe that this wish could be true.

"So, Shaggy, you're real name is Norville?" Fred asked, laughing as he sat down in his desk. Norville was truly the most hilarious thing Fred had heard in a long time.

Shaggy grimaced. "Yeah, it is. But when I was, like, seven people started calling me Shaggy, and ever since then, I've been, like, having people call me that."

Fred smiled and informed, "It'll probably be better if you just tell everyone here you're name is Shaggy. You might get picked on if people know that you're _Norville_."

Shaggy nodded and grinned back. It seemed to him like Fred was looking out for him. Maybe this jock wasn't such a jerk after all. Maybe he was actually nice. Shaggy's suspicions were confirmed when Fred began to talk about Coolsville High. He told Shaggy about all of the assholes he needed to avoid, all of the teachers he had to suck up to, and all of the girls that were untouchable.

"Like, thanks, man!" Shaggy said, overjoyed that he'd made his first friend in this godforsaken town.

At that moment, two girls walked in. Fred recognized one of them immediately, and he sat up straight and wondered if he looked presentable.

"Hi, Daphne," Fred said to her, slightly breathless.

The red-head smiled kindly. "Hi, Fred." She took a seat at the desk beside Shaggy. "I'm Daphne Blake," she said to the new boy. "You're the new kid, right?"

Shaggy nodded and grinned nervously. He wasn't used to talking to such gorgeous girls. "Yeah, I'm Shaggy Rogers."

"It's nice to meet you, Shaggy," Daphne responded politely. She seemed like a very nice girl. "This is my friend Velma Dinkley," Daphne continued, gesturing to the small brunette who now occupied the desk in front of Shaggy.

Velma smiled awkwardly. She wore glasses that almost seemed too large for her face, yet they looked very good on her. She wore an orange sweater and a red skirt. Her dark hair was short, cut abover her shoulders, and her deep chocolate eyes were intoxicating. Velma was very small, petite, fragile. Shaggy was possessed with the overwhelming urge to protect her, though there wasn't even the slightest danger around. He found that, even though they didn't know each other, he really wanted to talk to her. He just wanted to spend time with her.

_Maybe this is what people mean when they talk about "love at first sight,"_ he thought.

Velma blushed and looked down, causing Shaggy to realize that he'd been staring at her like an idiot for a very long time. He cleared his throat and his cheeks grew flushed. "Like, it's, um, really nice to meet you, Velma," he said nervously, his voice cracking several times.

Shaggy glanced to his left to find that Fred was staring across at Daphne, a dreamy expression on his face. Shaggy almost laughed at how ridiculous their whole situation was. Fred was in love with one of the "untouchable girls" he'd mentioned earlier, while Shaggy was infatuated by a small nerd who he'd never said more than ten words to.

This was going to be a very..._interesting_ class.

* * *

Tell me what you think! I know there haven't really been any monsters and stuff yet, but I promise it's coming up in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for the really great feedback I got on the first chapter. I'm really excited that you all seem to like it so far.

Before I let you get to the story, I just want to ask you to check out the Scooby Doo FanFiction Awards 2010. It was created by my two good friends, LadyStrength and AudreyMetalMouth. Please vote for you favorite authors and stories when you get the chance. It'll be a really fun thing to do, but it only works if you guys vote! So, now that I've said that, here you go:

_Chapter 2_

Later that day, Shaggy was growing increasingly distracted. He had nearly every class with Velma, which was not helping matters. Most other guys seemed to ignore her, but he found the small girl to be very intriguing. She was quite pretty in his eyes, despite what others thought. If only he'd could get to know her better!

During his journalism class, Shaggy could not keep his eyes off of the little nerd. When he was finally able to relinquish her from his gaze, it was only because he had started to sketch a portrait of her in his notebook. He had just completed the shading on her face when a voice caused him to start.

"That's really good."

Shaggy had been completely unaware that anyone had been watching him draw. Unfortunately for him, it was the last person he'd ever want to show his picture to - Velma.

"Um, like, thanks," he muttered, his cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson. "I, um, I was just..." Shaggy tried in vain to think of an excuse that would make this any less creepy.

"You're a really talented artist, Shaggy," Velma said to him, completely ignoring how weird it was to have the new kid drawing a portrait of her. There was a moment of awkward silence before Velma continued, "So, do you want to be partners for the project?"

Shaggy was confused. "What project?"

Velma chuckled. "The one that Mrs. Spencer has been explaining for the past thirty minutes."

Shaggy blushed again, this time more fiercely than before. He had evidently tuned out the teacher's voice when he became absorbed with his drawing of Velma. "Oh, um, sure, I'll, like, be your partner, but I honestly have no idea what we're supposed to, like, do."

Velma smiled and explained to him that the project was to pair up and write about a Halloween myth. The assignment required research, investigation, and would be worth a good portion of their semester grades.

Writing wasn't particularly Shaggy's strong-point, and he really didn't want Velma to get a bad grade because of him. But men are selfish creatures, and Shaggy was no exception. He did not mention his short-comings or tell her that he would be no good. No, instead, he accepted the partnership and looked forward to the extra time they'd get to spend together.

Meanwhile, Fred and Daphne were sitting through an agonizing AP European History class. Their teacher, Mr. Clark, was extremely dull, making even the most interesting topics monotonous. At that particular moment, he was discussing a group project that was going to be due soon. It was nearly the same assignment as the one the journalism studnent's had received. In groups of three, the students would have to collaboratively write a paper describing a legend related to Halloween. In the essay, the group had to include the origin of the legend, reported "sigthings" of whatever mythical creature they chose to investigate, and modern adaptations of the original myth.

"Do we get to choose our groups?" a student asked Mr. Clark.

"No," the old man responded. He pulled out a list. "I've already assigned them to you." With that being said, the young people were separated into their project groups. This process seemed to take hours, though that was only the effect of Mr. Clark's droning tone. Finally, the last group was called. "Fred Jones, William Parker, and Daphne Blake."

Fred's heart skipped a beat. He had been paired with Daphne. That was the most exciting news he'd heard all day.

The whole classroom erupted with noise as the students began to talk to others in their group. Fred rose and walked over to Daphne's desk, though he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say once he got there.

"So, Fred," Daphne said to him, twisting a lock of red hair between her fingers. "Do you want to meet after school in the library? We can try to figure out which legend we want to do."

Fred smiled and nodded. For some reason, he felt extremely nervous. He was popular, a jock, a stud. There was no reason that talking to Daphne should make his stomach do flips. "Um, yeah, that sounds good. Um, what about Will?" he asked, referring to the other guy in their group.

Will himself walked up at that moment. "Hey, guys," he greeted. "Sorry, but I can't do anything after school today. I've got volleyball practice."

Daphne and Fred nodded, assuring the boy that they understood.

"We'll just figure out which legend we want to do today, and we'll work on the rest when you're free," Daphne said.

Fred felt his breathing coming quicker, and he had an anxious feeling in his gut. He was going to be alone with Daphne for at least an hour after school. For the rest of the day, that was the only thought on his mind.

As soon as the final bell rang, dismissing the students from the confines of their classrooms, Fred sprinted down to the library.

"Like, hey, man," a familiar voice greeted.

Fred looked up, panting, and saw Shaggy Rogers standing before him. "Hey, Shaggy," he responded between gasps for breath. "What are you doing here?"

A faint blush colored Shaggy's cheeks. "Velma and I are, like, working on a project together, so we're here to, like, get info on some Halloween myths."

Fred raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? That's exactly the same thing I'm doing with Daphne."

Shaggy shrugged. "I guess, like, a lot of teachers are doing it for Halloween."

The two boys continued with such small talk as they sat down at a nearby table and waited for their partners.

Eventually, there was the sound of the library door being opened, accompanied by some giggling. Daphne and Velma walked in, arms linked, whispering quiet secrets to each other.

Both Fred and Shaggy were curious to know what they were discussing in their hushed tones, but neither had the courage to ask. Instead, they merely gestured for the ladies to join them at their table, explaining that their projects were nearly identical.

"Well, in that case, do you want to work on them together?" Daphne suggested. "Not like cheating or anything," she clarified. "We could just work together to come up with topics we like, but we'd do separate projects."

No one objected to this idea, but while reading about all the legends of Halloween, Fred came up with an idea.

He grinned mishcieviously. "Do you guys want to tell ghost stories?"

* * *

To be honest, I'm not too proud of this chapter, but review and tell me what I need to improve.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

"A woman was walking through a cemetary on Halloween night. In her hands, she was carrying a dozen roses which she was going to place on her husband's grave for the anniversary of his death. As she passed through the gravestones, she came across a tall statue of a man. This figure was carved out of stone, wearing very old-fashioned clothing, and his whole body was facing in the direction of the woman's car. The life-like replica sent chills down the woman's spine. It was dark out, and the moon cast an eerie glow on the statue, making look as if it could come alive at any moment. She quickly dismissed such thoughts and began walking toward her dead husband's grave. As she reached her destination, she immediately noticed that something was off. The inscription on the headstone remained unchanged, but something had been written over it in a dark red liquid that could only be blood. 'You're next,' the message said. The woman screamed with fright and started running toward her car, the roses still in her hands. As she neared the statue of a man she'd seen earlier, she was gripped with terror. Instead of facing her car, as he had been before, the stone man was now staring in her direction, pointing at her with one long, bony finger."

"Like, zoinks!" Shaggy said, rocking back and forth in his seat.

The group was still Life Skills class the next day, and they had sought entertainment. Fred had come up with the idea of telling scary stories, which everyone had eagerly agreed to. Unfortunately for Shaggy, the moving statue described in Fred's story seemed really terrifying, even if it was just a fictitious tale.

"What happened to the woman?" Daphne asked, her eyes twinkling with intrigue.

Fred felt his stomach do flips as he looked into Daphne's sparkling eyes. He had actually found something interesting to say to her. Fred had to struggle to remain mysterious as he answered, "No one knows. The next morning, all that was left of her was the dozen roses she'd bought for her husband."

"That's physically impossible," Velma pointed out smartly.

Shaggy mentally thanked Velma for saying this. He'd almost started to believe that statues could really move. "Right, it's, like, impossible," he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

"Oh, I've got a story," Daphne piped up, smiling eagerly. "Okay, so this isn't so much a story as it is an old legend. Every year, around Halloween, a demon awakens. It is known by many names: the Headless Horseman, the Dark Man, the god Crom Dubh, who demanded human sacrifices each year, but most often, this creature is known as the Dullahan. The Dullahan is a soldier, riding on top of a black horse. His steed is large and has flaming eyes. The rider would look like any other knight, except that this being does not have a head resting on his neck. Instead, the head is carried by the Dullahan under his arm as he rides around."

"What does he do?" Fred asked, leaning closer to Daphne as he got more interested in the legend. After a moment, he realized what he was doing, and blushed, leaning back again.

Daphne was pleased that Fred seemed to be enjoying her little tale. "The Dullahan rides through towns and says one person's name. If this person is lucky, the horseman will only wreak havoc on them, making their life completely miserable."

Shaggy gulped loudly. "Like, what if the person's _unlucky?"_

Daphne lowered her voice dramatically. "They die."

Shaggy had started shaking with fear. The others laughed, amused at how easy it was to scare their new friend.

After chuckling for a moment, Velma put her hand on Shaggy's arm in a comforting gesture. "It's alright, Shaggy," she said to him. "It's just a story."

"R-right," he replied, blushing under Velma's touch.

"You know what would be really fun?" Daphne asked the others, a mischievious glint in her eye.

Fred smiled knowingly.

As Shaggy saw the exchange between the two of them, he began to pray, _Please don't let it be anything scary. Please don't let it be anything scary. Please don't -_

"Going to the cemetary," Fred said, interrupting Shaggy's silent pleas.

"At night," Daphne added, finishing his thought.

Velma smiled, pleased with this idea. "I'm in." She looked at Shaggy, waiting to hear if he'd join them.

"Like, I don't know, guys," Shaggy began. At these words, Velma looked down with an expression very much like sadness. Did she really want him to go? Or was that emotion on her face something different? But then Shaggy began to think that if he went, he'd get to spend time with Velma as he'd wanted to. With a sigh, he finally said, "Fine, I'll go."

The rest of the group began to talk excitedly about their plans, but all Shaggy could think was, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to the people who took the time to review on this! It's really nice of you guys to take time out of your days to do that. I'd like to give a special thanks to AudreyMetalMouth and ChellRose who have basically reviewed on every chapter so far! Thanks, guys, you're awesome!**

**Just a reminder: When you finish reading this, you should seriously start voting on LadyStrength and AudreyMetalMouth's FanFiction Awards. Thank you so much to the people who have dropped my name a few times! Love you all!**

**Alright, I've kept you from the story long enough. Here's the next chapter. Please review!**

_Chapter 4_

"R'I don't r'want to go, Raggy," Shaggy's dog said to him. Normally, a talking dog would seem completely impossible, but in the Rogers' home, Scooby-Doo was accepted as just another member of the family.

It was now Friday, the day after the gang had made their plans. This evening, they would all meet up at Fred's house and drive over to the cemetary together. Unfortunately, before Shaggy could get there, he had to settle this issue with Scooby.

For the past fifteen minutes, Shaggy had been attempting to convince his dog to stay at their neighbor's house for the day. Shaggy's parents would be away for a few days, and Shaggy was going to be at school for the majority of the day. This would not have been a big deal, except for the fact that Scooby was no longer permitted to be in the house alone.

"Like, Scooby," Shaggy pleaded with the animal. "Mom and Dad'll kill me if they, like, find out that I let you be here by yourself. You, like, have to go to Mrs. Rochester's house or we'll both be grounded 'til we're eighty."

"R'I could come to rool r'with r'you," Scooby suggested, grinning hopefully.

Shaggy shook his head. "Scooby, they, like, don't allow dogs on campus."

"Dog? R'where?" Scooby said, looking around the room cluelessly. After a moment of this, Scooby looked confused, finding no dog in sight. He then completely forgot this matter, recalling what he and Shaggy had been debating a second earlier. "Please, Raggy?" Scooby asked, whimpering softly and allowing his eyes to grow big and sad.

Shaggy sighed. He really did have a soft spot for his cowardly, clumsy, ever-hungry dog. Scooby And when the Great Dane gave his "puppy-dog eyes," there was no way in the world Shaggy could resist him. "Alright," the teen finally said. "You can come with me to school, but you, like, have to stay outside the whole time where the teachers can't see you. It's, like, my first week of school and I don't want a detention just yet."

"Ray!" Scooby shouted in glee. He jumped on top of Shaggy and began lick his owner's face in a sign of affection.

Shaggy laughed and held up his hands to defend himself agains the attack of gratitude. "Like, Scoob, you've got to get off me or we'll, like, be late."

The dog obediently freed his owner, allowing the two to make their way out of the house. The bus arrived a few minutes later, and within a short time, Shaggy and Scooby were dropped off to begin yet another day at Coosville High.

"H-hey, Shaggy," came a tentative greeting from behind him.

Shaggy turned around to see Velma standing there, her hands clasped in front of her. Immediately, his stomach felt strange, in a way that is often associated with going on roller coasters or drop towers. Shaggy also noticed that his heart began to beat slightly faster than normal.

"Like, h-hi, Velma," Shaggy responded, wanting to kick himself for not being able to come up with a better way to start the conversation.

"Is this your dog?" she asked, gently stroking Scooby's ears. Much to her surprise, the Great Dane nodded its head. "Did he just...?"

"Yeah," Shaggy replied. "His name's, like, Scooby-Doo. Scoob's...different. He can, like, totally understand what you're saying, and sometimes he talks back."

Velma furrowed her brow, convinced this was completely impossible. She almost began to believe that Shaggy was mocking her by saying that he had a talking dog. But this idea proved untrue when Scooby exclaimed, "R'oh boy!" before running off toward the wooded area beside the school to chase a squirrel.

"Jinkies!" Velma cried. "He really can talk!" She shook her head in disbelief, ready to ask Shaggy more questions about his unusual pet.

But further exchange of comments between the two awkward teens was prevented as the bell sounded, indicating the beginning of the school day.

"O-oh," Velma said, momentarily startled by the sudden noise. "I guess I'll see you during Life Skills."

"Y-yeah," he replied. "Like, see you then."

Without waiting to see if Velma was going to say anything back, Shaggy turned on his heel and walked away. He shut his eyes tight and hit his palm against his forehead. _Why can't I be more interesting?_ he thought. _Now she'll never like me._

With a sigh and these thoughts running through his mind, Shaggy made his way to his first period class.

Meanwhile, Fred was once again observing Daphne as she walked through the halls with her friends. Her strawberry-blonde hair was swaying gently as she took each step. Her eyes were sparkling with glee as she laughed at some unknown joke. Suddenly, her expression softened as her gaze landed on Fred. He blushed deep red as he realized that he had been caught staring. However, Daphne didn't seem to be creeped out by his attention. Instead, a gentle smile settled on her lips and she began to walk over to him.

"Hey, Freddie," she said as she approached, leaving her friends behind.

He swallowed and replied, "Hi, Daphne. Um, I have to go to class now, but I'll see you in Life Skills."

Daphne opened her mouth to speak again, but Fred did not give her the chance. Instead, he turned around and walked to his first class, feeling completely stupid for leaving Daphne standing there, her reply never to be heard.

During Life Skills, though Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy had all planned on talking some more, they hardly spoke a word to each other. Mr. C had the entire class engaged in a project that was supposed to "help the students better understand their peers and broaden their set group of friends." Basically, the class was divided into small groups that were forced to ask each other questions and write down the answers on a sheet of paper. Unfortunately for the gang, none of them were in the same group, allowing only a small amount of time to be devoted to conversation about their plans later that evening.

"We'll all meet at my house at ten," Fred told the others when they were finally permitted to speak to each other. "I can drive us over in my van."

"Like, aren't you a little young to be driving?" Shaggy asked curiously.

Fred grimaced. He hated being asked that question. "No, I'm almost seventeen. I got held back when I was a kid," he muttered, his cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson. He thought Daphne would look down on him for this fact. In a moment, however, he soon recalled what he had been saying before. "My parents are going out of town for the weekend, so if you guys want, you can all just stay over at my house for the night. We've got plenty of extra bedrooms."

Everyone consented with this plan, eager to get their journey started.

"Like, do you mind if I bring my dog?" Shaggy asked before they parted ways.

Fred assured the scrawny kid that all pets were completely acceptable.

The rest of the day passed lethargically for each teen. All of them were anxiously awaiting their trip to the cemetary, so by ten o'clock and not a minute later, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were walking up the long driveway that led to Fred's house, nervousness and excitement running through their veins.

* * *

**I know I said that I would have the mystery introduced in this chapter, and I'm sorry that I let you down, but I _swear_ it'll be in the next one. Hopefully I'll have that up tomorrow, so you won't have to wait too long for it.**

**One more thing before you go: I had originally picked out a monster that I was going to use for this story, but I'm not so sure about my choice anymore. So if you guys have any ideas as to what monster, demon, ghost, or mythical creature I should use, please tell me in a review. Also, let me know how I'm doing so far! Thanks, bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

"Like, guys, why don't we just skip this little trip?" Shaggy suggested in vain. The gang was in Fred's van, which was surprisingly comfortable considering its lack of proper seating.

"Reah," Scooby agreed.

Fred gave a little jump at hearing the dog talk. Daphne had accepted this news alarmingly well, but Fred had been a little more reluctant to believe that Scooby could speak. He kept looking for a high-tech collar like the one from the movie "Up."

"Shaggy, it won't be that bad," Velma assured the frightened boy.

"Yeah, Shaggy, it'll be fine," Daphne piped up from the front seat.

Unfortunately, the girls' reassurances didn't seem to be taking any affect on the coward, so by the time Fred pulled the van into the parking lot at the cemetary, Shaggy was literally shaking with fear. Scooby wasn't much better. The dog had his tail between his legs and his ears were pushed back against his head.

The gang all exited the van and walked toward the menacing gates at the entrance of the cemetary, but they were prevented from entering the actual place by the arrival of some unexpected company.

There were three of them, all about the age of the gang, and they all looked absolutely terrified.

"Holy shit!" one of the guys screamed.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked them.

"Th-there's something there!" the boy replied. "W-we went in there for a laugh, just messing around, you know? But then we saw it..." He shivered and shook his head, trying to get the image of the terrible being out of his mind.

"What is it?" Daphne asked in a tone that was full of fear as well as curiosity.

The three boys just shook their heads. "No...no," they said. Before further interrogation could be introduced, the terrified teens ran toward their car, leaving the gang standing just before the cemetary gate, wondering what to do next.

After a moment, Shaggy said tentatively, "L-like, can we go back now?"

Fred, Daphne and Velma all looked at him as if he were completely insane. Scooby, on the other hand, had become so frightened by guys' story that he was now cowering behind his owner. Unfortunately for the cowards, it seemed as though they were outvoted by their friends, who were all eager to investigate these strange happenings. Without anymore discussion of this topic, Fred led the group into the cemetary. It would have been easier to do had it not been for the black night and mysterious mist that had fallen over the cemetary. In addition to this creepy setting, the cemetary gate creeked as it opened, emitting an eerie noise.

"Where do you think the boys saw that _thing_?" Daphne asked Fred, unconciously moving closer to him.

Fred shrugged. "I don't know, but it could take us a really long time to search this whole place." He thought for a moment, looking at the shortened space between himself and the redhead. "We _could_ just split up into two groups and go looking. That would allow us to cover more ground." _It would also give me more time alone with you, Daphne,_ he added silently. Upon seeing that the gang seemed to have no objection to this proposal, he continued, "Daphne and I will go to the right, and Shaggy and Velma, you two can take Scooby and go to the left."

"Okay, let's go," Daphne said, walking off in the designated direction.

Fred felt his self-esteem rise as he realized that Daphne had not even hesitated to accept him as her partner. His momentary pride was crushed when he recalled the fact that she was still "untouchable" and would never be interested in a guy like him.

"So, what do you think this thing is?" Daphne inquired.

Fred furrowed his brow, attempting to figure out what could have possibly scared those three guys so badly. "It's probably just some crazy old guy who hangs around here at night."

Daphne looked disappointed with this explanation. "That's not very exciting at all." Clearly she was interested in finding something more mysterious at this creepy cemetary. There was a moment after this which was filled with silence. Fred had almost started to wonder whether or not he should try to restart a conversation when Daphne suddenly continued speaking. "This has been fun. I really like all of you guys."

Fred's heart skipped a beat when he heard her say that, and he had to remind himself that she was just talking about "liking" them as friends. "Um, yeah, we all really like you, too. We-we can still h-hang out after this, right? I mean, I think you're awesome, and I-I'd really like to get to know you better," he said in a rush, saying the words before thinking about them. After he had finished talking, Fred felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He must've sounded so ridiculous to her.

However, much to his surprise, Daphne replied, "Of course we'll still hang out! There's no reason that we should stop."

Fred wished he could save that moment forever, never allowing time to move forward, just freezing that particular scene. Daphne wanted to hang out with _him. _Sure, Fred was every other girl's dream, but Daphne was so different than any other girl. She was the most perfect creature ever created, and she was now his _friend._ It wasn't exactly what Fred had always wanted, but it was better terms than they'd been on before, and he was ecstatic about that.

Unfortunately, this moment of joy could not last much longer. Soon the silence that filled the air was pierced by a terrible scream.

Across the cemetary, Shaggy, Scooby and Velma had come across the very thing that had scared the boys away from that place a few minutes before. They had been walking along, not in the least suspecting that anything was wrong, until Velma noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced in that direction, and discovered a horrifying sight.

Standing there, digging up a grave, was a disgusting figure. Its flesh was grey and loose. There were multiple, bloody scars along its arms and face. The clothes that this being wore were tattered and covered in dirt, as if it had been in the ground.

Velma had shrieked, clutching onto Shaggy's arm.

"Zoinks!" the scrawny kid exclaimed. "L-l-like, it's a _zombie_!"


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

The zombie looked up from digging up the grave to notice that it was being watched by two terrified teens and their dog. It put the shovel down, and began to walk toward Scooby, Shaggy and Velma.

Scooby yelped and jumped into Shaggy's arms, which were not very sturdy at that moment. Still carrying his dog, Shaggy grabbed Velma by the wrist and pulled her in the opposite direction. The trio sprinted toward the parking lot, attempting to get away from this hideous creature.

"Like, I thought...zombies were...supposed to be...slow!" Shaggy cried between breaths. Sure enough, the zombie seemed to be moving at an abnormally fast rate. It ran with a slight limp, but that did not stop it from being right on the tail of the group.

Shaggy and Velma were soon panting heavily and in need of a rest (Scooby had been carried this whole time, so he was completely fine). They had stopped watching where they were going, and instead were looking behind them to see if they had lost their pursuer.

Unfortunately, running through a dark cemetary without looking where you're headed is a bad idea. Panic seized Velma and Shaggy as they realized that there was no longer any ground beneath their feet. That moment almost seemed frozen in time, as the two young people were gripped with so much fear that it almost hurt. After that, they fell a relatively short distance into a ditch that had been dug in the ground. The worst part was the landing. Instead of dropping onto soft dirt, Shaggy, Scooby and Velma fell directly on top of a casket.

"Relp! Relp!" Scooby shouted.

"Get us out of here!" Shaggy cried.

The two cowards began attempting to climb up the walls of the grave, but ended up with a face full of dirt and no exit. Velma almost laughed at how ridiculous they looked.

"Stop," she told them, trying hard to fight back giggles when they both turned around with a fresh pile of dirt on their heads. "If we work together, I know how we can get out of here, but you guys have to be calm for a moment." Velma watched as the two took deep breaths in an attempt to relax. "Alright, now, Shaggy, you're going to have to lift me up."

Shaggy blushed deeply as he put his hands on Velma's waist and helped her climb out of the grave. He was glad that it was so dark, so she would have a hard time seeing his embarrassment. However, when Shaggy looked up at her, he was almost certain that Velma's cheeks had become more colored as well.

"Now, one of you needs to grab my hands and I'll pull you up."

In the end, it was Shaggy who took hold of Velma's tiny hands. He wasn't sure if she could support all of his weight, but he trusted that she had some sort of plan. As a matter of fact, Velma had wrapped her legs around one of the nearby headstones to give her more strength. With the help of Scooby, who was allowing his owner to stand on him, Shaggy was soon pulled out of the hole in the ground. Within the span of a minute, Scooby had been brought out of the ditch as well.

The three of them just sort of sat there for a moment, reflecting on that evening's strange events. Nothing that happened seemed real at all, yet there was no denying that it was true.

"Jinkies," Velma said softly, suddenly aware of how quiet the cemetary was. "This has been _some _night!"

Shaggy and Scooby nodded their heads in agreement.

"What happened to you?" a voice asked, startling each of the three out of their thoughts. Standing a few feet away were Fred and Daphne, staring at the dirt-stained faces of their friends in wonder and curiosity.

At this point, Scooby began to eloborately pantomime the events that had just happened. Unfortunately, neither Fred nor Daphne had comprehended any of the dog's explanation.

"We saw a zombie," Velma said in the end. "And he chased us into a grave."

Daphne raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Velma, you of all people should know that zombies don't exist."

Shaggy gulped loudly, fear in his big eyes. "L-l-like, if z-z-zombies don't exist, then w-w-what's that?" he asked the redhead, pointing at something behind her.

Fred and Daphne turned around and found themselves staring directly at an undead being. Daphne's eyes were wide with terror, and she seemed unable to scream. Instead, she just stood there, unable to fully understand what was going on.

"Run!" Fred commanded everyone, scooping Daphne into his arms and carrying her with him. For a moment it almost looked as though Daphne was going to force Fred to put her down, but one look at the zombie caused her to hold onto the blonde's neck with a tight grip, praying that he was fast.

The gang made their way back to the van, only stopping to rest when they were safely inside. Fred slid into the front seat, still holding Daphne, and rested his head against the window. He, as well as everyone else, was panting. The redhead leaned back and allowed herself to relax, intertwined with Fred, for a moment. But then, she realized what she was doing, and her cheeks became flushed as she sat up and scooted away from him. Fred blushed as well. His pride was hurt as he understood that she hadn't wanted to be that close to him or that intimate.

The awkward moment between Daphne and Fred was interrupted by a question coming from the back of the van.

"Like, what the hell was all that?" Shaggy asked, clearly freaking out.

Velma shook her head. "I have no idea. How could there be a zombie? And why was he digging up a grave?"

After thinking about these puzzling questions for a moment, a mysterious grin crept onto Fred's face. "Well, gang, it looks like we've got a mystery on our hands."


	7. Chapter 7

I know Halloween's been over for a week. I'm really sorry that I didn't get to finish this story sooner. I've had _way _too much school work this past week. But I'm writing this chapter now, so I hope you enjoy it and forgive me for not having it up sooner.

_Chapter 7_

"Hey! What are you kids doing here?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

The gang turned around to see an old man in a denim jumpsuit walking toward them.

They had gone back to the cemetary the morning after encoutering the zombie. Velma thought it would be helpful to find out which grave the undead creature was attempting to dig up when it had chased them away. Luckily, Scooby had caught the zombie's scent and was leading the group toward the grave when this elderly man had approached them.

"J-just paying our respects," Fred lied with what he thought was an honest smile.

The man eyed the teens skeptically. "Payin' y'ur respects, were ya? Or were ya diggin' up bodies and knockin' o'er headstones?"

Fred looked shocked at the implication. "No way! We're not like that."

Again the man squinted at them, looking at each teenager with disgust and distrust. He lifted a hand to rub his scruffy chin before he spoke next. "Well, I don' believe ya. I think you's the reason there's been so much damage here lately. Ya'll better come with me while I phone the sheriff. Y'ur gunna pay fer what ya did to them graves."

Everyone was beginning to look really frightened. They didn't want to be arrested for a crime they didn't commit.

Shaggy worried about how his parents would react to their son getting in this much trouble after being in the town for less than a week. How would he ever explain this to them? Would they ever be able to forgive him? Questions such as these were now swimming through his mind. He glanced over at Velma. She looked even more terrified than he did, which was really saying something. Shaggy felt so bad for her, the poor girl. She was probably the perfect child at home, and to know that the sheriff will have to question her must be mortifying. Seeing her like that was so sad, so pitiful, that Shaggy put his arm around her in a lame effort to make her feel better. It was seconds after he did this that Shaggy realized how stupid he was to do this. He kept expecting her to pull his arm away and reject him, but that never happened. Instead, Velma smiled a little and rested her head against Shaggy's chest. The scrawny boy felt his heartbeat speed up dramatically, and he was sure that Velma could hear it as well, but for now, he didn't really care how embarrassing that was. No, for now, he was enjoying this little moment they were sharing.

Fred was beginning to imagine all of the possible punishments that would be inflicted on him by his father when he discovered that his son was disrespecting the dead. Fred's breathing came more quickly and his hands began to shake as he thought of how disappointed his dad would be. And it would make Mr. Jones look bad in the eyes of Coolsville if he had a son who was viewed by the town as a delinquent. Suddenly, Fred felt Daphne slip her delicate hand into his. At first he was utterly confused - what was the reason for this? Then he realized that she was doing this as a reassuring gesture that they'd get out of this. She was comforting him. The fear and worry that had overwhelmed Fred now left completely. A small smile lighted his features as he gently squeezed her hand.

"Excuse me, sir," Daphne said to the old man in a very polite yet authoritative voice. "Would you mind telling us who you are?"

The man looked almost confused for a moment before he replied, "I'm Samson Green, the caretaker during the daytime. Who the hell are you?"

Daphne kept a very straight, business-like face as she spoke, making her seem very important and official. "I'm Daphne Blake, daughter of George and Victoria Blake (A/N: I have no idea what Daphne's mother's name is). My family built this cemetary and we are the ones who sign your paychecks. Now, unless you want to become unemployed by tomorrow morning, I suggest you be a little nicer to me and my friends. We have a few questions we'd like to ask you, and I expect that you'll answer them fully and without any attitude."

Samson's eyes went a little wide and his countenance changed from one of severe distrust to one of apology and slight fear. He nodded slowly, showing that he accepted Daphne's conditions and understood her power over him.

Daphne's expression did not change. She still kept that professional appearance about her as she continued. "Now, Mr. Green, my friends and I are all very tired. Is there a place we can sit while we ask you some quesitons?"

Samson nodded again, still not speaking. He began walking toward a small cottage that was on the edge of the property. The gang followed closely behind him.

After about a minute of silence, Samson seemed to notice Scooby for the first time. "Um, Miss Blake, y'ur dog needs ta be on a leash," he said quietly, as if afraid of Daphne.

"Dog?" Scooby barked, looking around. "R'where?"

Samson, as well as Fred, jumped a little when he heard the dog talk. After Daphne explained that they didn't have a leash, and that Scooby was a very well-trained dog, the subject was dropped and they continued walking.

Fred looked down at his hand, intertwined with Daphne's. This was more perfect than he could have ever imagined. Daphne, the most popular, beautiful, and untouchable girl he'd ever met, was now holding his hand, standing close to him and walking by his side. They weren't _together _but it was more than he could have even dreamed for.

"So, Daph," he whispered to her, leaning even closer so they would not be overheard by Samson. "Is that really true? About your father being able to fire this guy?"

"Oh God, I hope so," was the hushed reply.

The whole party soon arrived at the tiny building. They entered to find that it contained one bedroom, a kitchen, and a small living room. The place looked as though it had been uninhabited for some time, a fact that Samson confirmed.

"So, Mr. Green," Daphne began, once more taking on the business-like persona. "Do you know whose graves have been defaced recently?"

Samson nodded. "James Carmichael, Rose Carmichael, and Jane Carmichael."

Velma furrowed her brow in thought. "So they've all been from the same family?"

"Yup," Samson replied, rubbing his unshaved chin. "Come to think of it, the Carmichael's were real rich folk. It's said that they buried some fancy jewels in one of the caskets."

"Who knew about that?" Daphne inquired.

Samson thought for a moment. "Only meself, Steven Carmichael, and Earl, the night guy. Why? Ya'll think that someone's tryin' to find the jewels?"

Velma smiled. "That's exactly what we think." She rose from her seat, signaling for her friends to do the same. "Thank you, Mr. Green. You've been very helpful."

"Really?" Samson asked, scratching his head. "How's that?"

Velma pushed her glasses up higher on her nose as she answered, "Now we know why the zombie was been digging up graves, and we're one step closer to solving this mystery."


End file.
